Strategies for increasing affordability often involved trade-offs between various goals and impacts. It is important to consider all of these factors when evaluating potential solutions to unaffordability.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development devoted an entire issue of a quarterly newsletter to land use regulations and the idea that local laws are strangling the nation's supply of affordable housing.

In Atlanta, a proposed pedestrian bridge to connect the Vine City MARTA station to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the new home of the Falcons football team, carries a hefty price tag. At $24 million, the bridge would be more than two blocks in length, intended to bypass a 70 foot crosswalk. The Saporta Report calls for that funding to be spent on improvements that are more needed on an everyday basis, not just gameday.

The proposed bridge would cross over Northside Drive, and including the looping ramps to elevate pedestrians over the roadway, would be 700 feet long. Plans to make Northside Drive into a complete street are already underway, but have not yet been implemented.

The Saporta Report points out that $24 million could pay for 200 traffic signals or address 10% of the city's backlog of broken sidewalks.

We now can embark on a more collaborative, inclusive, rational and efficient way in how we decide to invest in our Atlanta’s future.

"A good place to start would be to stop the pricey, loopy-loop pedestrian bridge over Northside Drive. Then we can reallocate those funds to make Northside Drive a corridor that really connects the people in our city."

Planning: A professional practice and an academic study focused on the future of built environments and connected natural environments—from the smallest towns to the largest cities and everything in between.

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